One of my pet peeves is hearing someone say "I can't" even before they make an honest effort to do something. I've tried to banish that phrase from my own vocabulary, although I'd be the first to tell you I can't carry a tune. The "can'ts" we hang on to are just stories from our past that we keep telling ourselves. We believe the stories, even though they may not be true. These stories limit us. They prevent us from being our authentic self.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to enter the story that plays repeatedly in your head? It's like watching reruns of Seinfeld that just keep playing over and over again. We know the ending but we watch it anyway. We've watched it so many times we can recite the dialogue.
The stories we tell ourselves play over and over again - for years sometimes. These dialogues that go on in our head are the same thoughts we had yesterday...last week...last year...and probably for many years. These may be statements that we make to ourselves that sound like the voices from our childhood. Maybe your mother or father said you were too short to play basketball, so you keep telling yourself you're not big enough or smart enough or good-looking enough. We believe the significant adults in our childhood, even though they may have been wrong or misguided in their comments.
Pay attention to the dialogue that plays in your head, and begin to ask yourself the question, "Is what I'm telling myself really true or is it just a story?" What stories do you tell yourself that aren't true? Then try to interrupt the story before you get completely immersed in it. You are capable of being so much more than what your mind tells you.
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